A Plan Comes Together

*Rowan*

The phone line is quiet for several seconds as Alpha King Michael considers what I’ve said to him. At this point, he should be coming to the realization that Alpha King Solomon is not his friend. He’s not done anything to help him, and he put one of his citizens in grave danger by using her as a weapon.

He’d be better off to sever the bonds he has with Darksky and help me.

But old habits die hard, and when he finally speaks, his voice is tentative. “I don’t know,” he begins. “We’ve had an alliance with Darksky for generations.”

“And where has that gotten you?” I point out. “What has his alliance ever done for you?”

“Well, it’s kept him from attacking us,” he says. “Our border with him shares some valuable resources, but a lot of those resources are on our side. He could very well have decided he wanted to take them from me, the same way he’s decided he wants to take resources from you, and attacked us.”

He has a valid point. I need to exploit it. “You mean the moonstones?”

Again, he grows silent for a moment. “You found them?”

“Yes,” I say. “How long have you known about them?”

“A while,” he admits. “Solomon has promised me that once he gets his hands on them, he’ll share them with me. There’s no way anyone could ever threaten either of our kingdoms with those gems in our hands.”

“And all you have to do is, what? Join him in his slaughter of my people?” I try to keep the agitation out of my voice as I dig deeper into this alliance.

“More or less,” he admits. “But he’s never asked us to fight. He did tell me to get my warriors ready a few weeks ago. Then, he called it off.”

A few weeks ago. Probably because Solomon was executing his plan to kill me. He wanted to wait until my kingdom was at its most vulnerable. “You can’t trust him, and you know it,” I remind him. “Even if he says he’d give you some of the moonstones I have, you have to know he wouldn’t really give you any of them.”

“We have a treaty,” he says in the sort of voice royals use when they’re trying to establish themselves as high and mighty.

I can’t help the laugh that rolls between my lips. “A treaty? My family had a treaty with him, too. For centuries, our two kingdoms have shared a border. No one ever attacked anyone else. We were going to get along blissfully until the end of time. Then, somehow, he learned about the moonstones–stones that even I didn’t know existed–and he decided the treaty meant nothing. He’s not a trustworthy individual, Alpha Michael. I think you know that.”

“I can’t see us breaking the treaty. We’d have to have a good reason,” he argues.

“Is weaponizing a noblewoman from your pack not enough reason?” I point out. “Listen, I talked to Solomon a bit ago and told him that I’d killed the girl. Obviously, that’s not true. She’s safe. I don’t trust her, that’s for damn sure, but she happens to be my Beta’s mate, so she’s probably going to be around for a while.”

“Your Beta’s mate?” he repeats, gobsmacked. “Abigail is Dean’s mate?”

“That’s right,” I tell him. “Which tends to tell me that the Moon Goddess wants our two kingdoms to work together. She also made my sister mates with Solomon’s son, so she wants peace there, too. The only way that can happen is for Solomon to die and for Aiden to be put on the throne. I can do it without your help, but it would be easier with it. Also, I don’t think you want to be on the wrong side of this next battle. I’ve got witches–witches that can use the moonstones to enhance their powers. I think it’ll all be over shortly once he attacks.”

I let all of that sink in, and it does take him several moments before he responds. “If I agree, how many moonstones will you give me?”

I think about the vast amount of moonstones buried beneath my mansion. There are so many, I’m not sure I could even count them if I spent a year doing so. “How many do you want?”

“A hundred,” he says quickly. “Medium to large ones. I don’t want them for their power, I want them for their worth.”

“So you intend to sell them?” I ask.

“Yes. We’ve fallen on hard times recently, if I’m honest. Our kingdom could use the money.”

I hadn’t realized that, so I appreciate his honesty. “As long as you’re willing to sell them with caution, I have no problem with that. No more than two or three to each buyer.” There aren’t that many kingdoms in our realm who would even be able to use the gemstones. He might be considering the human market, where they would just be used as jewelry and trinkets.

“That makes perfect sense. But can you spare so many?” he asks. “Won’t that deplete your stash?”

I bite back a laugh. He doesn’t need to know the enormous amount of moonstones I have beneath me. “We’ll manage.”

He lets out a sigh. “I have to think about it. Solomon hasn’t reached out to tell me that he thinks Abigail is dead yet.”

“He will use that to try to get you to attack. He will probably move in soon. I think it best that you let him think you’re going along with him, and then, when the battle ensues, you turn on him. If we have an agreement.” I’ve thought out my plan carefully, and I think this is the way to go.

“Can I let you know in the morning?” he asks.

“Yes. Why don’t you call him and let him know a messenger just arrived with Abigail’s head in a box?” I smirk at the idea, but I hear him grimace. 

“Fine. I’ll be in touch.”

“Goodbye.” There’s no need for thank yous at this point. He should be thanking me for letting Abby live. I hang up the phone and jot down some notes. I will need to have a treaty drawn up between our two kingdoms, and I want Michael’s signature before I transport any moonstones to him. I’m sure he’ll want some of them in advance. I would if I were him, and he has a lot more experience being a king than I do.

But not as much power.

My office door opens, and Hezzlie peeks her head inside. I can’t help but smile. She’s so beautiful. She looks tentative, and I’m sure she’s wondering if I might be on the phone. 

“Come on, beautiful.” I stand and close the distance between us, eagerly snatching her up in my arms. I plant a kiss on her lips, but I am so eager to tell her about what I think is a brilliant plan, I can’t kiss her for too long. I pull back in anticipation of being able to tell her what I’m doing when  I notice her expression. Her eyebrows are knit together and her mouth is turned down in a concerned smile. “What is it?” I ask.

“I need to ask you something,” she says. “But I’m not sure how you’re going to react.” 

I brace myself, afraid it’s something bad. Hoping it’s nothing, I lead her over to the window to have a seat so she can lay it on me.

I can’t take any more bad news.